Join a rotating roster of guides, all certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, on the second Sunday of each month for a gently guided immersion into the more-than-human world.
This term, coined by the cultural ecologist David Abram in his book, The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World, acknowledges the living and breathing nature of the environment as akin to our own, and seeks to mend the contemporary separation and hierarchy that exists between humans and nature. This, too, is a primary intent for Forest Bathing.
You will first be guided in a grounding exploration which brings you into deeper connection with all of your senses, before being given a variety of carefully crafted invitations to wander out and use to explore your relationship with the Arboretum environment. After each invitation we gather to share with each other what we are noticing. Every practice ends with an herbal tisane.
This experience is timed to take place at sunset on Sundays. Accompanied by the Arboretum’s trees, plants and inhabitants, as well as the gentle ending of daylight, we bring our weekend to a peaceful end and reset ourselves for the week ahead. A lovely regular ritual to participate in by yourself or with family and friends, this practice will help to regulate stress and anxiety and strengthen one’s bond with self and with the earth.
Because of the slow and meditative nature of this class, we strongly recommend that participants be 12 years old and older.
We recommend:
-Wear or bring comfortable layers of clothing so as to be prepared for the temperature shift that occurs after sundown and into the night.
-Apply sunscreen and/or insect repellant before class
-Silence your phone
What to bring:
-Water
About Our Guides:
Debra Wilbur is an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide, a UCLA/Marc-trained Mindfulness Meditation Instructor, sound healing practitioner, Usui Reiki Master. She weaves together these practices along with her interests in astrology, ritual and ceremony to create a singular nature-based immersion aimed at quieting the mind and body, easing stress, freeing the imagination, and creating community among strangers.
Dr. Novellyn Heard is an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide, bird watcher, meditator, and retired mental health professional. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Medical School. Through forest immersion practices, she helps herself and others relax, connect with nature, and improve well-being.
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